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1988 San Marino Grand Prix
1 May |number = 454 |officialname = VIII Kronenbourg Gran Premio di San Marino |circuit = Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Autodromo Dino Ferrari |location = Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |circuittype = Permanent Racing Facility |lapdistance = 5.040 |laps = 60 |distance = 302.400 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:27.148 |fastestlap = 1:29.685 |fastestlapdriver = Alain Prost |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 53 |winner = Ayrton Senna |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Alain Prost |secondnation = FRA |secondteam = |third = Nelson Piquet |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The 1988 San Marino Grand Prix, otherwise known as the VIII Kronenbourg Gran Premio di San Marino, was the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy, on the 1 May 1988.'San Marino GP, 1988', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr454.html, (Accessed 08/04/2019) The race would see Ayrton Senna lead home a dominant one-two victory for , as the he and teammate Alain Prost lapped everyone else in the field. Senna had been the quicker during qualifying, grabbing pole position by over-three quarters of a second from Prost. A huge 2.6 second gap then appeared before the third fastest car, with Nelson Piquet putting the similarly powered ahead Alessandro Nannini in the first of the s. Senna duly sprinted away at the start of the race, while Prost let the revs of his Honda engine dip too low, and hence comparatively crawled off the line. He duly tumbled down to seventh, with Piquet trying in vain to keep Senna in sight during the opening tour. Indeed, the young Brazilian was quick to build a lead at the head of the field, leaving all of the attention on Prost during the early stages. Indeed, Prost, having turned his boost-pressure up to max, would carve his way up the field back to second by lap eight, having danced his McLaren past Piquet's Lotus at Tosa. Prost subsequently went sprinting off after his teammate, although having used more boost pressure than expected he would be forced to conserve fuel for the rest of the race. Piquet, meanwhile, became something of a bottle neck, with the Brazilian's Lotus not handling as expected but having enough power to keep the Benettons, Gerhard Berger and the two behind. Indeed, Piquet's lack of overall performance was particularly beneficial to Nigel Mansell, who was able to leap through the Piquet train to challenge the Brazilian for third in the under-powered Williams-Judd. He would also manage to squeeze past the Lotus at Rivazza, although a loss of oil pressure a few seconds later allowed Piquet to scramble back ahead. Alessandro Nannini was the next to challenge Piquet, although a clash of wheels at Tosa sent the Italian spinning down to seventh. His Benetton teammate Thierry Boutsen the took over the fight, just as the pair were lapped by the flying McLarens out front. There would, however, be no changes to the order out front in the closing stages, with Senna cruising home two seconds clear of Prost in second. In truth the pair, who both pulled to a stop immediately after the finish line, were extremely low on fuel as they crossed the line, but made it home regardless. Third, meanwhile, would go to a frustrated Piquet, who just kept Boutsen at bay with his turbo power. Berger, meanwhile, would controversially claim fifth, cutting the Acqua Minerale chicane to pass Nannini on the final lap, with the Italian himself a very annoyed sixth. Background An opening day victory in Brazil had unsurprisingly left Alain Prost at the head of the Championship, three ahead of second placed finisher Gerhard Berger. Defending World Champion Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, had opened his title defence with a third place finish, while Derek Warwick, Michele Alboreto and Satoru Nakajima had secured their first points of the campaign at the opening round. Prost's Brazilian victory had left atop the Constructors' Championship after the opening race, albeit just a point ahead of in second. Indeed, Ferrari were one of two teams to claim two points finishes at the season opener, the other being third placed , meaning they were both closer to the leaders than they otherwise would have been. were the only other scorers in fourth. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Larini was excluded from the weekend after his car failed pre-race scrutineering. Grid ** Alboreto would start from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap. *† de Cesaris started from the pit lane. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Alboreto was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Modena was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance. Milestones * Goodyear recorded their 5000th race entry as a tyre supplier.'1988 San Marino GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1988&gp=San%20Marino%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 08/04/2019) * made their 300th appearance at a Grand Prix.'2. San Marino 1988', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1988/saint-marin.aspx, (Accessed 08/04/2019) * Twentieth entry for as a constructor. * 50th race for Philippe Alliot. * Seventh career victory for Ayrton Senna. * McLaren claimed their 57th win as a constructor. ** registered their 29th win as an engine supplier. * Alain Prost set a new record for most points scored - 421.5. * Maiden points finish for Alessandro Nannini. Standings Alain Prost saw his Championship lead extended in San Marino, moving six clear of his now second placed teammate Ayrton Senna. Indeed, the Brazilian's victory had catapulted him straight into second, ahead of Gerhard Berger and Nelson Piquet, while Thierry Boutsen completed the top five. Derek Warwick, Michele Alboreto, Alessandro Nannini and Satoru Nakajima were the other early-season scorers. In the Constructors' Championship it was, unsurprisingly, that led the charge, and had already established a fourteen point lead. Indeed, were the only team within a race weekend's worth of points of the Anglo-Japanese squad, and just a point ahead of third placed . , meanwhile, had moved ahead of , with those five constructors the only scorers. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1988 Grands Prix Category:San Marino Grand Prix